This invention pertains generally to the field of interactive programming and more specifically to creating interactive programming for transmission over a radio and computer network.
Radio has traditionally been a serial process where a radio program is broadcast to a listener in an audience with limited opportunities, such as calling in over a phone line to talk to a talk show host, for the listener to participate in the radio program. The evolution to a more interactive form of radio, or radio where the listener is allowed to participate, has been slow given the lack of bidirectional communication channels between the listener and the radio program broadcaster. When bidirectional communication channels were created, they tend to be of insufficient bandwidth for communication of complex listener interactions with the radio program.
Development of a nearly ubiquitous communications network, namely the Internet, has greatly expanded the use of interactive radio. However, listener participation has so far been limited to choosing radio content, responding to advertising messages, and answering viewer questionnaires or polls. This is primarily because most interactive radio programming follows a conventional radio paradigm wherein the radio programming is wrapped in advertisements; and the only responses needed from an audience are to listen to linear pre-recorded programs and to buy advertised items or services. Little has been done to fully involve the audience in a rich participatory experience where the audience has as much control and influence over the content of an interactive program as the originator of the interactive program. This is in contrast to the expectations of some listeners who want a richer and more satisfying participatory experience within the context of an interactive program.
Some interactive radio formats also have a disadvantage in that, although they may use the Internet as a bidirectional communication channel, the interactive radio format is dependent upon set-top-boxes and middleware that a listener either purchases or leases from a broadcaster such as a cable operator. While these devices may have a variety of functional features, they may require an additional expenditure that a listener or a Multiple Systems Operator (MSO) may not want to incur, especially if the listener already has an Internet-enabled device such as a home computer. This makes most existing interactive radio programming “heavy” in the sense that specialized hardware is needed to take advantage of the interactive content embedded in an interactive programming signal. Additionally, the combination of a required set-top-box and specialized interactive radio formats make interactive programming distributed over an interactive radio network difficult to integrate with conventional Web content such as Web pages available from a Web site.
Therefore, a need exists for a lightweight interactive programming system allowing for rich listener participation that is easily integrated with existing Web content. The present invention meets such need.